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SAAB 9-3 Passenger door locked, latch deadlocked.

9511 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  AVguy, 
W
Hi!

This thread is a documentation of how we solved a deadlocked latch in my car.
Strange enough we could not find any solution on the internet with this problem, only one thread that has put this question with no answer (or were we unlucky when searching).
Anyhow, here is the story of how we solved this.


Problem:
  • You have access to the car inside and outside but the door is still locked.
  • You hear the electronics works, such as the window and the lock nob at the window pops up and down but the door is still locked.
  • You feel resistance that the cables are still connected to the door handle outside and out side and also to the door nob at the window.

If the above is fulfilled you probably have a mechanical failure in the latch and it wont help with any car thief trick with pulling the strings to the latch.


Our understand of the lock and failure guess:

Lucky we had replaced the latches in the back doors and could spare to open one. Here is one open.

Auto part Vehicle Engine Car Bumper


In the picture below.

Auto part


(1) and (3) is the locking mechanism. When the arm is at position E the latch is locked and door handle bars cannot open the door. If the arm is below position D the latch is open and will pull (6) when pulling door handle bars.
Outer handle bar is pulled at (5) and inner handle bar push at (4).

(1) and (2) may have been broken (or other) but all end up pulling the arm (6) to open the lock.

So what we want to do is to push the arm (6) to open the latch.


Our solution:

Assuming we are guessing right above we may not need to brake the door or the B-pillar.
We only need to drill one hole (7) (hopefully) to get to push arm (6) (7).
((7) is in picture below).
Auto part Automotive exterior Bumper Automotive window part
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W

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Discussion Starter · #2 ·
Next part.

How we did it:

  • Make space. Remove the back seat and passenger seat and remove interior of the B-pillar.
    Land vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Steering wheel
  • Measure where to make the drill hole. We assumed that the driver door is a mirror of the passenger door and measured on the driver door and reflected it on the passenger side and put a marking where to drill.
    Well, this was not easy because almost everything in the car is curved and have depths so it was hard to find a reference point. We used measuring tape, spirit level and plumb line.
    Vehicle door Automotive exterior Vehicle Car Automotive design
  • Make the drill through the B-pillar and plastic of the latch! We started with a small drill and moved up to 18 mm and drilled about 45 mm deep. But be careful not to drill in the latch more than the plastic, do not brake the mechanics you want to pull and push.
    Car Vehicle Vehicle door Family car
  • If you were lucky as us you hit the spot with one drill. Now you need to pull and push the arm (6). We made a "fishing hook" and used a screw driver.
    Floor Asphalt Architecture Vehicle door Road surface

Now your door may be opened and you can replace the broken latch!
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Vehicle door Luxury vehicle


We hope this can help someone else in the future.
 
AVguy

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#4 ·
Wow just wow
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]


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